String-nail.



Nu. 64!,099. Patented Jan. 9, I900. a. sonou.

STRING NAIL.

(Application filed Mar. 10, 1896.

(No-Model.)

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GEORGE GODDU, OF WINCHESTER, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO THE UNITED SHOE MACHINERY COMPANY, OF NEW JERSEY.

STRING-NAIL.

SEECIFIGATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 641,099, dated January 9, 1900.

Application filed March 10, 1896.

T0 at whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, GEORGE GODDU, residin g in Winchester, county of Middlesex, and State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in String-Nails, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like letters and numerals on the drawings repre senting like parts.

This invention relates to nails or fastenin gs of that class commonly known as stringnails and comprising a series or plurality of connected headed and pointed nails which form a continuous wire adapted to be coiled or wound into the form of a roll and employed on boot and shoe nail driving machines, in which latter each one of the series of the connected headed and pointed nails is adapted to be severed at the juncture of the head of one nail with the point of the contiguous nail sole or other stock. Headed and pointed string-nails of the class referred to as now commonly made and known to me are formed from a continuous length of round wire of uniform diameter, which is normally of a definite hardness imparted to it by the drawing action of the dies or rolls, by which the metal is reduced to the form and diameter the wire should be before being formed into connected nails. This wire is further hardened at the points of the connected nails by the action of the machinery, which transforms the continuous wire of uniform diameter into a series of connected headed and pointed nails of varying diameters, and in some instances the wire of uniform diameter is compressed and elongated at predetermined intervals to form the points of the connected nails, and in other instances the metal of the wire of uniform diameter is upset to form the point of one nail and the head of the next adjacent or contiguousnail. In both instances the wire is injuriously acted upon, and the nails formed are defective for the purpose intended. In the first instance, where the points of the connected nails are formed by compressing or elongating the metal, the latter is, in fact, sub jected to a drawing action, which increases the hardness of the nail at its point, and

thereby weakens the nail-strip at the junc- Serial No. 582,519. (No model.)

tion of the points of the nails with the heads of contiguous nails, so that when bent into the form of a coil or roll the strip is liable to become broken during its feed or passage through the nail-driving machine, in which process the coil-strip has to be'straightened, and in this straightening operation the brittle connection of the nails one to the other is frequently broken. Furthermore, even if the nail-strip is not broken off in the feeding process or step referred to the nails comprising the strip being of increased hardness at their points are defective in clenching, for by reason of the stock through which the nails are driven being more or less pliable or yielding and also by reason of the main portion of the nail being softer than the points the latter resist being bent and prevent proper clenching, and if too hard orbrittle the points may break in the act of clenching. lln the second instance, where the head is formed by upsetting some of the metal, which action also forms the point, the fiber or grain of the metal is injured, and the point is also hardened by the action of the upsetting tool or dies, which hardening of the point renders it brittle and objectionable for the reasons above specified. r

This invention has for its object to provide a string-nail in which the defects above referred to are avoided and the point of the nail left in its original condition as to hardness and of the desired ductility to effect a superior clenching of the stock and, further, to provide a cheaper, stronger, and better nail for the purpose intended.

In accordance with this invention I start with a flat band or ribbonof metal, preferably of substantially uniform thickness and width throughout its length and in the form of a ribbon or band, preferably of a width suflicient to make two string-nail strips, and by suitable machinery the said ribbon or band is cut longitudinally to form two string-nail strips each comprising a series or plurality of connected headed and pointed nails, the heads of the said nails being wider than their points, so as to give to each nail a tapered side extending from the head to the point, and the latter being unaffected by the cutting action, so that the points of the nails 're-- main of their original hardness, which is sufficient to readily penetrate the material and yet is snficiently ductile to permit it to be coiled and then straightened in the feeding process above referred to without danger of severing the strip and also insuring a proper clenching of the material.

The string-nails referred to, each comprising a series or plurality of connected headed and pointed nails tapering on one side from the head to the point and of substantially uniform thickness from head to point, may be left in their fiat shape or form when the metal is of sufficient thickness to impart to the nail the necessary strength or rigidity to enable it to be driven through the material or stock without bending; but if it is desired to use a thinner metal the connected flat tapering blanks or nails may be bent longitudinally from the point to the head, so as to form a nail composed of two members at an angle to each other, preferably an angle of about ninety degrees, which construction forms a strong nail capable of penetrating the stock or material Without danger of bending and at the same time leaves the point of the nail in its normal or original condition as to ductility and capable of bending and clenching without breaking, thereby obtaining a strong, more efficient, and cheaper nail. The two members of the nail being at an angle to each other form a head with a substantially broad hearing or surface to receive the driving blow.

These and other features of this invention will be pointed out in the claims at the end of this specification.

Figure 1 represents a sufficient portion of a metal ribbon or band from which my improved string-nails may be formed to enable this invention to be understood; Fig. 2, a

side elevation or edge view of the band shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 3, a plan view of the band shown in Fig. 1, cut longitudinally into two nailstrips embodying this invention; Fig.4,a similar view to Fig. 3 with the two strips separated; Fig. 5, a plan View of the upper strip shown in Fig. 4: with the individual nailblanks bent or folded substantially on the dotted lines indicated in Fig. 4; Fig. 6, a view in elevation of the nail-strip shown in Fig. 5 looking down; Fig. 7, asectional detail, on an enlarged scale, on the line 7 7, Fig. 5, looking toward theleft; Fig. 8, a perspective view of one of the series of nails shown in Fig. 6 as severed from a continuous nail-strip, and Fig. 9 a perspective of a modified form of nail.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, or represents a metal ribbon or band of thin steel or other suitable metal and of a width, as shown in the present instance, sufficient to form two continuous nail-strips, as will be described. The

' metal band or strip a is of preferably uniform nail-strips 2 3, each having one side continuous or unbroken and the other side composed of sections inclined with relation to the unbroken or continuous side to form a series or plurality of connected nail-blanks, each blank comprising a substantially wide head portion 4, a substantially narrow end portion or point 5, and a tapered side 6, extended from or near the point 5 to the head 4 to form a tapered side inclined with relation to the width of the head 4. The ribbon or band a in practice may be cut by suitable machinery, not herein shown, but which forms the subject-matter of another application, Serial No. 615,195, filed by me December 10, 1896. In the nailstrip 3 the nail-blanks extend or point in a direction opposite to those in the nail-strip 2, and the band or ribbon a may be made of a thickness sufficient to enable the nail-blanks to be severed from the strip and to be used as nails without further manipulation, the thickness of the material or band a being such as to impart to the nail the desired stiffness to prevent it bending when driven into the stock, but not of such thickness as will impair its flexibility. If desired, I may employ substantially thin ductile bands or ribbons and obtain the necessary strength with the thin stock by folding or bending each nail-blank longitudinally, so as to form two members 12 13, (shown best in Fig. 8,) the member 13 being folded or bent, as herein shown, substantially at ninety degrees to the member 12; but instead of the particular angle referred to the member 13 may be bent at any other angle desired. By reference to Fig. 8 it will be seen that the members 12 13 being bent at an angle to each other form a head with broad hearing or surf-ace for the driving-tool and the members 12 13 renforce each other and act as braces one to the other, so that when driven into the stock bending of either is prevented.

In Fig. 41 have represented the member 13 as formed by folding on the dotted line 10, which extends from substantially the transverse center of the point 5 to substantially the transverse center of the cut portion of the head 4:; but-instead of this particular arrangement of the folding and bending line I may effect the bend of the tapered member 13 on any other desired line-as, for instance, on a line so that the tapered member 13 runs from the head 4: down flush or substantially flush with the point 5, as represented in Fig. 9 and it is evident that the fold may be varied as may be deemed most expedient.

In Fig. 5 I have represented the continuous nail-strip with the members 13 folded substantially at right angles to the members 12, and in Fig. 6 the continuous strip is shown in a position at right angles to that shown in Fig. 5.

I have herein represented the ribbon or band a as of a width suificient to make two metal nail-strips but I do not desire to limit my invention in this respect, as it is evident that the ribbon at from which the nail-strips are formed may be of any desired width.

From the above description it will be no ticed that in the formation of the nail-strips the primary stock or band a is merely cut and is not in any way hardened by this cutting action, and consequently the point of the tapered nail throughout its length and width is of substantially the same thickness as the band or ribbon from which it is formed, so that the said point is left of the same ductility as the original band, which is sufficientto enable the nail to clench readily and easily and which also permits of the nail-strip being coiled and then straightened in the feeding process without danger of severing the strip. Furthermore, the nail-strip herein shown, which is designed, among other uses, to be employed with boot and shoe nail driving machines, is free from the defects and objections above referred to with relation to string-nails as now commonly constructed and is stronger, cheaper, and more efficient for the purpose intended.

By reference to Figs. 3 and 4 it will be seen that two string-nail strips are formed by one cutting action and that the ribbon or band is not stretched or compressed in this cutting action, and consequently the ductility of the points of the string-nails is left the same as the original band, and, furthermore, the band or ribbon is out so that the points of the connected nails are left equal to or wider than the thickness of the original band or ribbon, so that the points when clenched may turn in a plane substantially at right angles to the tapered sides of the nails.

I claim-- 1. Asanew article of manufacture,astringnail, consisting of a metal strip cut from a substantially flat, thin, ductile metal band or ribbon of substantially uniform thickness throughout its length, and characterized in that one side of the string-nail strip is substantially straight and the other side is composed of sections inclined and transverse with relation to the substantially straight side to subdivide the said strip into a series of connected headed and pointed tapering nails, with the inclined sections of uniform length and extended from one transverse section to the next contiguous transverse seotion,whereby duplicate string-nails may be formed from the ribbon or band without loss of metal and without decreasing the ductility of the original band or ribbon,subst-antially as described.

2. As an improved article of manufacture, a string-nail consisting of a series of substantially fiat, thin, and ductile connected headed and pointed tapering nails, each nail having a substantially straight side, a substantially straight head extended substantially at right angles to the said straight side, and an inclined opposite side extended continuously from the end of the head of one nail to the head of the next adjacent or contiguous nail but between the sides of the head of the contiguous nail, whereby the said string-nail may be cut from'a ribbon or hand without loss of metal or Without decreasing the ductility of the ribbon or band and may form one of a pair of duplicate string-nails into which the ribbon or band is out, substantially as described.

3. A slug-strip cut from a thin ductile ribbon of sheet metal of substantially uniform thickness, said slug-strip having one practically straight edge, and the other edge composed of longer inclined faces, each of which forms one longitudinal edge of a slug, and shorter transverse faces, each of which forms a part of the outer end or head of a slug, whereby two slug-strips may be formed from a single strip of metal without Waste.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

GEORGE GODDU.

Witnesses:

JAS. H. CHURCHILL, J. MURPHY. 

